Bon Voyage

Well Tom our holiday worker went back today, we dropped him off at the station this morning at 7.30am, He as been a great help and a good laugh, I have to say he is one of the best workers we have had, he gets stuck in and picks things up quickly. We have made some great progress this last couple of weeks, we now have a concrete floor on the ground floor, we have unearthed the septic tank and put a trench in ready for the pipes for the new bathroom, and the bathroom structure is up and plaster boarded, I did start plastering it but the plaster i was using had gone off, so instead of two hours setting time it was setting within a few minutes, its a good job i started with a small wall.

Thanks Tom and Bon Voyage

Europian Highland games

Well we recently attended the european highland games, not that we are avid followers, it just happens to be held in Bressuire our nearest town, the toss the caber event was going well, nail biting as only 2 of the many contenders had got through, then disaster struck! one buy snapped a caber so they had to stop the event and give everyone a clear pass to the final the following day as they der not continue as they had no spare cabers.

Organic vegetables

Well after sampling some tasty organic veg at a recent BBQ at one of our friends house, we have decided we would like to dedicate a large portion of our back field to a organic vegetable garden.

I must admit this is something i know very little about, I will have to do some research, but if anyone as any helpfull suggestions or knows a good source of information please let us know.

I thought it best to start the planning now in preparation for next year, we will start off with a small section and take it from there, any of you gardening buffs interested in getting involved please see the  Working Holidays page. Your help would be greatly appreciated.

More pictures of the medieval castle inc panoramic

A panoramic view of the back of the castle, taken by Tom

A view from one of the upstairs windows, taken by Tom

Progress: A floor in the castle

Well its been a busy week, Tom arrived and we got stuck in to plaster boarding the bathroom, but Tom had to change his plans so this meant he wouldnt be here as long as he had planned so work stopped on the bathroom so we could get the concrete finished on the ground floor.

We have now finished the floor, Tom as been a great help, and he is now stopping on until Thursday so we can get even more done.

Tom on the barrow

The escapologists

Well for some time now our goats billy and milly have been getting out, this baffled us as we have checked all boarders, and highered a lot of the fencing, anyway, today we found out how they were doing it.

The saga of the bathroom

Well after my comitment to the bathroom things didnt quite pan out, Rachael slept in a funny possition and her shoulder was giving her some jip, i fell through the hole on the floor left for the staircase and damaged my leg and arm, so neither of us were capable of lifting the plaster boad to the second floor in order to continue the bathroom, but on the bright side, Tom arrived safely today (turns out he is english not canadian ) so im off to bed now in order to get a nice early start with Tom Finishing the bathoom plasterboarding.

Not much done

Well last week i didn’t get much done, was busy with work, i got one afternoon in, Ive made up for it today, had a really good day and got all the tracking done for the bathroom and framed out the office.

Im going to make sure i get plenty in this week, also we have a “holiday worker” coming Thursday, Tom from Canada, he sounds like a good laugh and all being well this should speed things along a little.

Oak Beams

When we bought the castle there was some of the original oak beams remaining, the main beams, massive things approx 16 inch square are all there, but its the smaller ones that span between them, anyway, Ive been itching to strip one and see what they come up like, yesterday I did just that, they look good, now I’m itching to treat them and see the end result, a friend of mine had said that you get a great finish with bees wax mixed with turps, but it seems you cant get it in France.

I dont want to varnish them, we were at some friends last week and they had done theirs with linseed oil, that looked quite nice.

Any suggestions would be appreciated, please use the “post a comment”

The bramble solution that stinks

Some time ago we had a big bramble problem at the front of the castle, all the base of the tower was so badly overgrown with them, then another large section was the same, nothing seemed to work, then someone suggested goats, telling us that goats loved brambles, so, off we went and bought 3 miniature pygmy goats, 2 females and a male, enter Billy, Milly and Cher.

Billy and Milly

Cher

We duly installed them at the front of the chateau to set to work on the brambles, months passed and nothing, they ate just about everything but the brambles, then, just has we had given up, I went across to feed them one day and the bramble pit was clear, Yippee! They obviously saved the best till last

As pigmy goats are very popular as pets we had bought 2 females and a male with the intention of breading them, I figured they might as well pay for their keep and contribute to the kitty, wel, now Cher is pregnant and expecting soon, the down side is ever since she came in season Billy as stunk to high heaven, it really is terrible, and every time I go over there he tries to rub his sent on me, its a nightmare! The other day I got is sent on my hand, I washed it in bleach and could still smell it after!

Before she came in season and he did the business he was obviously a virgin as Billy and Milly where quite young when we got them, he didn’t smell and was very friendly and playful, but now he as had is wicked way with Cher is as changed totally, now I think he sees me as competition, he gives me the evil eye and looks at me as much as to say “have you been messin wiv ma bitches” He also tries to sneak up on me and put his sent on me, he really does smell bad, it makes me heave, the other day I was outside the caravan talking on the phone, suddenly I could smell him, I turned round and he was coming through the gate, he had escaped from the front of the chateau.

So, it looks like our breeding plans are over, it’s the snip for Billy followed by a good shower!